Charvis makes timely return

The British

& Irish Lions

Tour to New Zealand 2017

Charvis makes timely return

Wales flanker Colin Charvis will be looking to grasp a late chance to impress British & Irish Lions selectors when Newcastle host Worcester in the Zurich Premiership on Sunday.

Charvis missed the entire Six Nations tournament after sustaining a foot injury while on European Cup duty against Newport Gwent Dragons three months ago and will be aiming to make up for lost time.

Sir Clive Woodward names his 44-man party to tour New Zealand on Monday, allowing Charvis to use the Worcester clash at Kingston Park to confirm his spell on the sidelines is over.

"It was enormously frustrating being out of the side and away from training when I was just starting to get more involved, but I'm hungry to return and can't wait to run out (on Sunday)," said the Falcons back row.

"Watching the matches as a spectator wasn't easy, but I'm determined to come back strong and contribute as much as I can in what is left of the season to help us qualify for the European Cup again."

England World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson has not been so lucky, however, and he will sit out the Warriors showdown after failing to complete his recovery from medial knee ligament damage.

Newcastle director of rugby Rob Andrew said: "He's about as close as you can get to being fit to play, but he just isn't quite there yet.

"He's done most of training this week, but we just have to do things right and make sure he's absolutely 100 per cent when he does come back."